Yoga community mourns for Sheila Brown

I often meet dozens of new people each week with my job. Many of them have trusted me with their stories as I’ve written about their artistic achievements, their wartime valor, their actions of faith. They give me an hour or two of their lives as I take notes, then turn those notes into stories. Too often I tend to forget about them within a few weeks as I move on to new stories featuring new people.

Some subjects of my stories stand out in my memory, even if I don’t have a chance to see them again after the article is published. Sheila Brown was among them and it was with sadness that I learned of her passing on Saturday. Especially heartbreaking is her young age and the fact that she leaves behind a husband and young daughter.

Sheila and her husband, Jt, owned Be Hot Yoga Studio in St. George. According to a fundraising page for Sheila’s family at YouCaring.com, she became sick after acquiring pneumonia during an all-day yoga retreat in Las Vegas. The infection later entered her bloodstream and spread throughout her body. After a week in intensive care, she was diagnosed with a rare form of leukemia, which led to her death early Saturday morning.

As with most wellness instructors, Sheila displayed a great desire to help people. The bond she formed with her students is obvious from the outpouring of love and sadness displayed on Facebook this weekend. Part of the reason I wrote the story about Be Hot Yoga in the first place was because she came so highly recommended.

The fundraising page says that in addition to losing a wife and mother, the Brown family still has the additional burden paying for the medical treatments they used to try and save Sheila’s life. Her supporters are asking for help to give back to the Brown family, which has brought so much to the community. They are asking for donations to the family in lieu of flowers. You can find more information here.

Although I never took up Sheila offer to try out a yoga class, I did observe her teaching when I wrote the article. While I did not participate, I still felt the peace and serenity she brought to the room while teaching. I could feel the depth of love she had for her craft. I wish I had taken the opportunity to get to know her better.

The following are excerpts from the story I wrote on Be Hot Yoga. It originally appeared in The Spectrum & Daily News in November 2012.

It’s 105 degrees in this room. Sweat is glistening in the dim light. Yet the atmosphere is one of tranquility.

Nearly 20 people are gathered at the Be Hot yoga studio in St. George this Thursday evening for a hot yoga class. The idea is to increase the health benefits of yoga by doing it in temperatures that range from 85 to 105.

“It’s a therapeutic heat,” says Be Hot co-owner and instructor Sheila Ilias Brown, likening it to a doctor applying heat to sore muscles.

In addition to the heat, four humidifiers run through the class, creating humidity that helps the students breathe. Sheila’s husband and Be Hot co-owner, Jt Brown, says the heat also helps the students warm up better, reducing the chance of pulling muscles.

In many cases the heat helps the students to achieve quicker results, Sheila says.

“It’s really, really hard but after the class you feel amazing,” she says. “It’s hard to understand unless you experience it yourself.”

As she begins the class, Sheila reminds the students to have fun, stay hydrated and take breaks as necessary. Then she encourages them to try and “get into the meditative state.”

Twilight fades outside as Sheila guides the students through various poses, her songlike instructions flowing as effortlessly as her more experienced students’ poses. A native of Bangladesh, Sheila’s slight accent lends an element of authenticity to the directions.

Lilting flute music is barely audible in the background while she walks among the students, gently adjusting their poses and paying special attention to the less-experienced students.

The poses call on the students to sit at times and to stand for others. At one point Sheila even turns off the dim lights and instructs them to lie down, relax and breathe. Instructions to breathe come often because the breathing is as important as the movement.

Although it’s a peaceful workout, it can be intense.

For Sheila, it’s part of the culture in which she was raised in eastern India, which later became Bangladesh. She says yoga there is as common brushing your teeth.